A man carries a cue card for David letterman outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan after the taping of tonight's final edition of "The Late Show" with David Letterman in New York

A man carries a cue card for David letterman outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan after the taping of tonight's final edition of "The Late Show" with David Letterman in New York May 20, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Several audience members who filed out of the theater after the show had tears in their eyes.

"It was really incredible," said Will Landman of Long Island, New York. "It was the best way he could go out."

Audience members pointed to a star-studded Top Ten list and the Foo Fighters as highlights. As for the host, Letterman "was guarded but you could tell it was really hard for him," said John Bernstein, who flew in from Los Angeles to see the finale.

"You could see his emotion," he said. "But I think he's feeling a lot more than he's showing."

His last few weeks have been warmly nostalgic, with Letterman entertaining old friends like Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Anticipating the end, viewers sent Letterman to the top of the late-night ratings the week before last for the first time since Jimmy Fallon took over at NBC's "Tonight" show and they competed with original telecasts. (AP)